Innovation Sandbox on AWS: what it is, and how to fund the POC you run in it.
Innovation Sandbox on AWS is an AWS Solution that lets cloud administrators hand out temporary, budget-limited sandbox accounts and recycle them after use. It is not a funding program and does not give you credits. If you want AWS money for a GenAI proof of concept, that comes from POC funding, which an AWS partner files, or from AWS Activate, which you apply for yourself.
- Innovation Sandbox on AWS is an open-source AWS Solution. A cloud administrator deploys it into an AWS Organization; it sets up a sandbox organizational unit with guardrails, sends budget alerts and takes automated actions at spend thresholds, and recycles accounts after a set time or spend.
- It is not a funding program. The sandbox keeps experiments safe and contained; it does not pay for them.
- To get AWS money for a GenAI proof of concept, your matched AWS partner can file POC funding, or incremental workload (IW) funding if you already run on AWS and the work is new: $50K to $150K for startups. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. AWS Activate credits are separate, and you apply for them yourself.
IWhat Innovation Sandbox on AWS is
The phrase "AWS innovation sandbox" usually means one specific thing: the Innovation Sandbox on AWS solution for temporary sandbox accounts.
Innovation Sandbox on AWS lets cloud administrators set up and recycle temporary sandbox environments through a web interface. It is built for solution architects, DevOps engineers and AWS account administrators. Teams get production-isolated AWS accounts to experiment in, and the accounts are cleaned up and reused after each lease.
Per AWS, the solution does three things. It sends alerts and takes automated actions when spend reaches a budget threshold. It lets accounts be used for a set duration or spend amount, then cleans them up. And it limits expensive or sensitive actions inside sandbox accounts, through a sandbox organizational unit preconfigured with policies and guardrails.
The solution is open source; you pay for the AWS resources it runs on. AWS estimates that at about 65 US dollars a month in US East (N. Virginia), before whatever your sandbox users run inside their accounts.
Innovation Sandbox on AWS is the safe room for experiments. It is not the money for them. Funding a POC is a separate step, covered in section III.
IIHow teams use a sandbox for a GenAI experiment
Whether you deploy the AWS Solution or build the same controls yourself, a good GenAI sandbox has four guardrails: isolation, budget, policy and lifecycle.
- Isolation: A dedicated AWS account under AWS Organizations, with no network path or IAM trust into production. Anything that goes wrong stays inside the sandbox.
- Budget guardrails: AWS Budgets with alerts, and in the Innovation Sandbox solution, automated actions when spend reaches a threshold.
- Service control policies: Organization-level rules that fence off what can run, for example only certain Regions and only Amazon Bedrock plus a short list of supporting services.
- Lifecycle and cleanup: Time-boxed accounts that are cleaned up after use, so abandoned experiments stop costing money.
What goes inside it for a GenAI POC
A GenAI sandbox usually enables Amazon Bedrock model access for the models you want to test (Claude, Amazon Nova, Llama, Mistral and others), optionally Bedrock Knowledge Bases for a quick RAG prototype, Amazon SageMaker for notebooks or custom training, and Bedrock Guardrails. Turn on cost allocation tags from day one so you can show exactly what the experiment used.
IIIFunding a GenAI POC: what AWS offers and who files it
The sandbox does not pay for anything. These are the AWS funding routes for a GenAI experiment, and different people file them.
Partner-filed POC funding. Your matched AWS partner can file proof of concept (POC) funding for a defined GenAI test: a specific use case, a scope and a success measure. If you already run on AWS and the experiment is new work, incremental workload (IW) funding can fit instead. For startups, partner-filed funding is $50K to $150K. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. For most startups without a VC, this is the larger route.
AWS Activate credits. You apply for these yourself. Activate Founders is $1,000 to start, up to $5,000, with no investor needed. Activate Portfolio is up to $200,000, using the Org ID from your VC, accelerator or angel group if it is an AWS Activate Provider. A consulting partner cannot file Activate for you. Activate credits can pay for Bedrock usage and the sandbox accounts.
Generative AI Accelerator. The AWS Generative AI Accelerator gave its 2025 cohort of 40 startups up to $1 million each in AWS credits. AWS selects the startups; no partner files it.
Startups pay CloudRoute nothing. Partners pay CloudRoute a monthly membership plus 10% of AWS-approved funding. See how POC funding works for the full mechanics.
| Funding | Who files it | Amount | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) | Your matched AWS partner | $50K to $150K for startups. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. | You are not on AWS yet and want to migrate. |
| Proof of concept (POC) funding | Your matched AWS partner | $50K to $150K for startups. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. | You want to test something, whether or not you are on AWS today. |
| Incremental workload (IW) funding | Your matched AWS partner | $50K to $150K for startups. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. | You are already on AWS and are launching new work: a new AI feature, a new customer or a new contract. |
| AWS Activate Founders | Founder applies | $1,000 to start, up to $5,000 | Self-funded startups with no investor or accelerator behind them. |
| AWS Activate Portfolio | Founder applies | up to $200,000 | Startups backed by a VC firm, accelerator or angel investor that is an AWS Activate Provider. |
| AWS Credits for AI Startups | Invite only (AWS account manager) | $200,000 or more, by invitation | AI startups ready to scale after Activate Portfolio, invited by AWS. |
IVHow POC funding works in practice
POC funding is tied to a real engagement with an AWS partner. There is no public form for it.
- Describe the experiment: A sentence or two on the use case, the scope and what success looks like.
- Get matched with a partner: CloudRoute picks one vetted AWS partner that fits your stack and Region. We reply within 24 hours; your matched partner reaches out within 5 business days.
- Scope it together: The partner checks whether the test qualifies and shapes it into a defined POC. The same partner can set up the sandbox.
- The partner files, AWS decides: If the work qualifies, the partner files the funding request with AWS. AWS reviews it and decides. The amount depends on the workload.
VWhich route fits which team
The right funding route depends on your stage and whether you already run on AWS.
- Startup with no VC or accelerator: Partner-filed POC or IW funding is usually the bigger route: $50K to $150K for startups when the work qualifies, compared with Activate Founders at $1,000 to start, up to $5,000. Apply for Activate Founders yourself as well.
- VC- or accelerator-backed startup: Apply for Activate Portfolio (up to $200,000) with your provider’s Org ID, and have a matched partner file POC or IW funding for the specific experiment.
- AI-first startup building a large GenAI product: Watch for the AWS Generative AI Accelerator cohort; AWS selects the startups. Use partner-filed funding and Activate in the meantime.
- Enterprise innovation team: Enterprise POCs usually run through your AWS account team. A partner can still scope the POC. Innovation Sandbox on AWS is often a good fit for enterprises that hand out many sandbox accounts.
Innovation Sandbox on AWS vs AWS funding routes
They solve different problems. One gives your team safe accounts to experiment in; the others pay for the experiment.
| Innovation Sandbox on AWS | Partner-filed POC or IW funding | AWS Activate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AWS Solution for temporary sandbox accounts | AWS funding for a qualifying test or new workload | AWS promotional credits for startups |
| Who sets it up or files it | Your cloud administrator | Your matched AWS partner | You, the founder |
| What you get | Isolated accounts, budget actions, cleanup | $50K to $150K for startups when AWS approves | Founders: $1,000 to start, up to $5,000; Portfolio: up to $200,000 |
| Pays for experiments? | No | Yes, when the work qualifies | Yes |
How a match works (example)
- You tell us about the work
You fill in a short form: what you run today, what you want to move, test or build, your stage and your region.
- We pick one partner
We read your answers and pick one vetted AWS consulting partner that fits the work, the stack and the region. We reply within 24 hours; your matched partner reaches out within 5 business days.
- The partner checks POC funding
Your matched partner scopes the test with you. Then it checks whether the test qualifies for POC (proof of concept) funding. A POC can fit whether or not you run on AWS today.
- The partner files, AWS decides
If the work qualifies, the partner files the funding request with AWS. AWS reviews it and decides. The amount depends on the workload.
- You pay nothing
CloudRoute is free for startups. Partners pay CloudRoute a monthly membership plus 10% of AWS-approved funding.
AWS Activate credits are separate, and you apply for them yourself. Use Activate Founders if no investor backs you. Use Activate Portfolio with the Org ID or invite from your VC, accelerator, incubator or angel group if it is an Activate Provider. A consulting partner cannot apply for Activate on your behalf.
Common questions
What is Innovation Sandbox on AWS?
Is AWS Innovation Sandbox a funding program?
Is Innovation Sandbox on AWS free?
How do I get AWS to fund my AI proof of concept?
How is a sandbox account different from my production account?
Can an enterprise innovation team use this?
Run the POC in a safe sandbox, with a partner who can file the funding
CloudRoute matches you with a vetted AWS partner who can set up a guardrailed sandbox and file POC or IW funding when the experiment qualifies and AWS approves. Startups pay CloudRoute nothing. Partners pay CloudRoute a monthly membership plus 10% of AWS-approved funding.